http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/117140.php

Published: 02.22.2006

Proposal would disallow Mexican consular ID cards
By Howard Fischer
CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
PHOENIX -- Unable to get the measure signed by the governor, state senators voted Wednesday to ask voters to prevent their cities and counties from accepting Mexican consular identification cards.

SCR 1030 would prohibit any government agency, commission or board from accepting documents for identification unless it was issued by state, federal or local authorities or a federally recognized Indian tribe. The measure also spells out that the veracity of the document has to be independently verifiable by either a police department or a federal homeland security agency.

The vote came as senators separately approved SB 1273 to spend $50 million next year to lease a ground radar system to monitor the state's southern border. Senate Majority Leader Tim Bee, R-Tucson, said that radar can spot people and vehicles sneaking into this country illegally.

And the House Appropriations Committee voted 9-4 to construct a private prison in Mexico to house criminals convicted of violating Arizona laws who are not citizens of this country. Backers of HB 2761 argue that it is cheaper to house foreign nationals outside the country and that many would prefer to be closer to relatives.

The identification card measure does not spell out what is unacceptable. But Sen. Dean Martin, R-Phoenix, made it clear his legislation is specifically aimed at the cards issued to Mexican nationals by that country's consular offices in Arizona. Several communities, including Tucson, Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe and Pima County have accepted those cards to get government services, including utilities, library services and transportation services.

Martin said the problem is that these cards provide little proof that the person is actually who it is supposed to be.

In 2003 Steve McCraw, a high-level official in the FBI, told the U.S. House Judiciary subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims that the Mexican government issues these cards to anyone with a Mexican birth certificate. These, he said, are "easy to forge."

McCraw also said there is no central database, allowing multiple cards to be issued under the same name or the same address or even with the same picture.

Martin said his concern is not so much that people here illegally get library books but that the city-issued cards they get -- like library cards -- could then be used to get more official forms of identification.

Lawmakers approved a virtually identical measure last year, only to have it vetoed by Gov. Janet Napolitano. She said it might prevent legitimate visitors from getting services from police.

Martin said that isn't the case, citing provisions in both last year's version and the current one which say that the provision does not apply if it violates international treaties. And he said the U.S. has agreements with other nations to honor each other's passports as identification.
The legislative actions come as the House is set to vote today (eds: thursday) on legislation to penalize companies that knowingly hire undocumented workers.

Gov. Janet Napolitano on Thursday said she supports a program that requires employers to actually verify that job applicants are in this country legally, versus simply adding state penalties for violating existing federal immigration laws.